Were India to be able to meet its commitment of adding 160,000 MW of renewable power (solar and wind power) by 2022, it would generate employment for 300,000 new workers, says a new report by the think tanks, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Ninety percent of these jobs would be in the solar sector.

Currently, both these industries employ around 21,000 people. But with a strong domestic manufacturing policy in place, another 45,000 could find indirect full-time jobs, according to the study. Seventy percent of the new jobs would be in the labour-intensive rooftop solar segment, which tends to generate “seven times more jobs” than large-scale projects such as solar farms, which are more typically associated with India’s solar push.

Job creation

This study is the third in a series of reports that look at job creation in the renewable sector. The findings were based on a survey of 37 solar companies, eight solar manufacturers, and nine wind companies. In all, 60% of the solar companies that responded were developing ground-mounted plants, while the rest were involved in rooftop solar projects.

Solar jobs would be distributed fairly evenly across the country, with a pronounced tilt in favour of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. However, wind jobs were likely to be concentrated in a few States that have high wind potential.

“Clean energy expansion is generating thousands of new jobs while meeting India’s climate and economic goals. With this tremendous opportunity, India is stepping up as a global leader in demonstrating how a growing economy can scale up renewables, generate employment, and meet rising energy demands,” Nehmat Kaur, who works with NRDC’s India team and is based in New Delhi, said in a statement.

Neeraj Kuldeep, Programme Associate, CEEW added, “80% of the new clean energy workforce will be employed during the construction phase. However, despite these being contractual jobs, the large pipeline of renewable energy projects creates enough opportunities for workers to stay employed. Also, since most of these jobs are in the rooftop solar PV segment, central and state governments must provide greater policy support to the rooftop sector.”

As part of its commitments to dealing with global warming, India has committed to installing 175,000 MW of green power by 2022. Of this, only 10% has been installed so far.